IBM Workplace Forms: Guide to Building and Integrating a Sample Workplace Forms Application

180 IBM Workplace Forms: Guide to Building and Integrating a Sample Workplace Forms Application

5.4.1 Where we are in the process: Building Stage 2 of the base scenario

The diagram in Figure 5-5 is intended to provide an overview of where we are within the key

steps involved to build Stage 2 of the base scenario. This focuses on adding storage

capabilities to DB2, incorporating Web services, modifying the JSPs and adding an approval

workflow.

As a starting point, we created a copy in the J2EE project from the servlet

(SubmissionServlet1) and all JSPs and gave them new names (SubmissionServlet,

dirlisting.jsp and similar). We did this so that we could continue work on the created code

structures without destroying the Stage 1 application.

Figure 5-5 Overview of major steps involved in building Stage 2 of base scenario application

5.4.2 Servlet Access to form data (prepopulation / data retrieval)

While Web service integration is a good choice for runtime data exchange during work in a

form opened in the Forms viewer, data prepopulation and retrieval is done on server side

before the form is presented to the end user and after a submitted form is received on the

server. Both actions are basically an access to the form available as a file or a stream.

There are two different access methods:

򐂰 Access through Workplace Forms API

򐂰 Access by text parsing

In this redbook we provide both techniques. In the servlet context we use API based methods

only. For Domino integration we discuss the text parsing methods as well. Both scenarios will

access the form in form open event (filling a template with initial data on first open) and data

extraction on form submit.

-Creating tables

-Populating

tables

-Form pre-

population

-Extraction of

form data

-Reading form

data from DB2

DB2 / Data

Storage

1

2

3

Servlet

Access to

Forms

Building the Base Scenario – Stage 2

Web

Services

-Common

scenario for

web services

in forms

-Web Service

Development

-Web Service

Runtime

-Modifying

index1.jsp

-Creating

JSP to view

DB2 data

4

Adjustments

to JSPs

-Importing

WSDL file

-Calling Web

Services

5

Form pre-

population w/

Web

Services

6

Approval

Workflow

-Designing

-Workflow